Wednesday, May 7
Noon - 2 p.m. Showcase
2-2:30 p.m. Awards Presentation
Marriott Tucson University Park Hotel
The University of Arizona iShowcase presents interactive research and creative projects by College of Information Science (InfoSci) students in game design and development, digital storytelling, data science, information science, machine learning and more.
Join industry partners, community members, and InfoSci faculty and students representing 40 projects, including hands-on video and tabletop games and senior capstones.
Wednesday, May 7, 2024
Noon - 2 p.m. Showcase
2-2:30 p.m. Awards Presentation
Marriott Tucson University Park Hotel
Ballroom
880 E. 2nd St., Tucson, AZ 85719
No registration is required. Please join us!
ENGAGE WITH STUDENTS AND PROJECTS FROM:
ESOC 300: Digital Storytelling and Culture
A foundation for understanding how stories shape communities, identities, memories and perspectives while providing opportunities for the theoretical analysis of self-representation, composite narratives, cultural heritage and memories. Students call on their own intellectual, emotional and imaginative processes to learn tools and develop skills in digital storytelling, interviewing and oral history collection.
ESOC 340: Information, Multimedia Design and the Moving Image
Students develop and refine skills and understanding of multimedia in contemporary culture based on a survey of innovative works in film and information arts, demonstrating a hands-on response to concepts covered in class using self-produced media, while also understanding how information functions in time-based forms of multimedia and video in this era of interactive information and displays.
ESOC 480: Digital Engagement
A culminating experience for BA in Information Science and eSociety students based on preparing them for work in digital information and related fields, including internships, interviews with leaders in their area of study, professional shadowing experiences, service learning projects, or community-based event planning. Students demonstrate how they've learned about what it means to be prepared in an eSociety.
GAME 452: Advanced Game Development
Concepts and techniques include procedural content generation, design patterns, artificial intelligence, shaders and post-processing effects, animation, custom interactions and gestures and performance optimization. Students implement these concepts on small-scaled Unity project templates using C# and also develop a larger-scaled final term project, having gained advanced game development skills that can be applied to future jobs or self-development.
INFO 526: Data Analysis and Visualization
Students demonstrate principles of graphic design, programming skills and statistical knowledge required to build compelling visualizations that communicate effectively to target audiences. Visualization skills include choosing appropriate colors, shapes, variable mappings and interactivity based on principles of color perception, pre-attentive processing and accessibility.
INFO 550: Artificial Intelligence
A broad technical introduction to the tools, techniques and concepts of artificial intelligence, with a focus on methods for automating decision-making under a variety of conditions, including full and partial information, and dealing with uncertainty. Students gain practical experience writing programs that use these techniques to solve a variety of problems.
INFO 698: Capstone Project
An opportunity for MS in Information Science students to showcase what they have mastered in the program, the Capstone Project is based on a project plan that includes project goals, master's competencies addressed by the project, system design, implementation schedule, assessment plan and milestones. The project contributes to the development and enforcement of the student's knowledge and skill sets in the field of information science.
ISTA 251: Introduction to Game Design
An introduction to game design that teaches students the fundamental concepts for creating games. The course surveys many different games, exploring the issues game designers face when designing games in different genres. Students participate in a series of game design challenges and are responsible for designing and prototyping simple games using a game-building tool.
ISTA 424: Virtual Reality
A theoretical and practical approach to give students the necessary knowledge that is required to design, develop and critique virtual reality games and applications. Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology that has recently been widely used in such areas as education, training, wellbeing and entertainment. VR offers a highly immersive experience as the head-mounted displays surround a 360-degree view of the user. It encompasses many disciplines, including computer science, human computer interaction, game design and development, information science and psychology.
ISTA 451: Game Development
An introduction to video game development, guiding students in an exploration of computer and other game design and continuing with an examination of game prototyping. Once students have a working prototype, they continue with the development of a complete 2D computer game. Students work in small teams to develop a working game as a term project.
ISTA 498: Senior Capstone
A culminating experience for majors involving a substantive project that demonstrates a synthesis of learning accumulated in the major, including broadly comprehensive knowledge of the discipline and its methodologies.
SENIOR CAPSTONE PROJECTS ELIGIBLE FOR AWARDS
College of Information Science senior capstone projects are eligible for awards that will be presented at the iShowcase following judging during the event.
Spring 2025 Capstone Projects
GAMES
Advanced Investments
Team members: Irene Leon, Hanwen Liang, Julien Nygaard, Conner Pessin, Keala Goodell
Advanced Investments is a strategy card-based game where players take on the role of a bank's AI assistant, using cards to provide financial advice to customers. The game aims to teach players financial literacy by applying financial decision-making skills to simulated real-life scenarios.
Dark Road to Mead
Team members: Doodle Biehle, Ben Bruso, Dillon Dye, Ethan Thomas and Jaden Dye
Dark Road to Mead is a survival horror game where the player maintains a car and avoids cryptic creatures while driving from the outskirts of Phoenix to the Hoover Dam.
Curtain Call
Team members: Vio Stavropoulos, Anh Thu Dang, Jonah Kirby, Mary Tran, Luis Ugarte
Curtain Call is a murder mystery narrative game with puzzle mechanics. An idol group, ACT: LOVE, finds themselves at a haunted house for a special episode on a variety show for up-and-coming artists. The night started fairly quiet until the group was given their first mission—and then… someone ended up dead. Trapped at the location with no way home, it is up to Juno to find a way to survive, solve the mystery and identify the killer before they strike again.
Upkeep
Team members: Egan Putman, Genesis Galilea Herrera, John Turpin-Cruz, Andreas Piyis and Jason Walls
A cozy medieval game where players clean, decorate and transform three distinct homes. Armed with an array of medieval-themed furniture, customization tools and a relaxing atmosphere, Upkeep offers players a satisfying experience where their creativity can run wild.
Warriors of the End
Team members: Santiago Crisantes, Julianna Dagenais, Yida Fang, Zachary Kosmerchock and Wenkang Lyu
You are a mercenary named Slythe, and you have been hired by a group of archeologists to guard them as they do research in an old temple that has been overturned by thieves. However, when you arrive at the temple an evil presence makes itself known. Play this JRPG inspired by the classics as you explore this temple, discover lost history, discover hidden secrets and discover what lies at the bottom of the ancient temple.
SOFTWARE
Bear Down Tracker
Team members: Claire Baker, Abby Cowden, Evya Sivarajan
Bear Down Tracker is a mobile app designed for the University of Arizona's community that can be used as a source for campus event tracking. It features a comprehensive events dashboard for events on campus tailored to the user’s interests. The app also offers customizable search filters to sort events by categories such as volunteer opportunities, tickets required, basic needs services and more. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible and easy for students, faculty and staff to stay informed and involved with campus events.
MockSphere
Team members: Sherali Ozodov, Khamdam Kadirov, Khondamir Rasulov and Sarvarbek Usmonov
MockSphere is a web-based platform that helps people practice for job interviews. It lets users do mock interviews through video calls with AI interviewers, live coding exercises and job-based questions. The platform also gives detailed feedback to help users improve. Recruiters can create their own interview flows and get reports on how candidates perform. Our goal is to make interview preparation easier, more realistic and more personalized.
OnQueue
Team members: Jackson Grove, Fuad Uddin
A mobile app that helps users reclaim their time by delegating tasks to AI agents. Users schedule tasks directly on their calendar, prompting AI agents to autonomously complete these tasks at the designated time, allowing users to focus on what matters most.
Wildcat Dining
Team members: Rachel Schmidt, Joseph Roth, Alina Suárez, Paloma Vasquez, Anthony Vo
The Wildcat Dining app is designed to help University of Arizona students navigate on-campus food options based on their class schedule and dietary preferences. With over 30 dining options across four dining districts, students can easily explore, filter and organize meals into a daily planner. Students can engage with their campus community by sharing and reading restaurant information and meal reviews, making it easier to plan meals and reduce stress on busy days.
RESEARCH
Catch Flights Not Feelings
Team members: Ella Jacobson, Uyi-Osa Irowa, Ibrahim Rafiq, Rashid Abdi
Our project is a website that consists of advanced machine learning models to accurately predict flight delays. By leveraging flight data, weather conditions and external factors, we aim to create a comprehensive tool that helps passengers plan their travel more efficiently.
Galápagos Islands Testudinidae Macroevolution
Team members: Paige Cherry, Sara Cielaszyk, Hubert Kasprzcki and Eleanor Tuck
Did you know that some tortoises live for over 100 years? How do you think their long lifespan affects their evolution and adaptation? Our project looks at the macroevolution of tortoises as a part of the Testudinidae family. This isn’t just about tortoises—this is about how life itself evolves and diversifies over time, leading to the incredible variety of species we see today.
Healthcare Desierto
Team members: Sarah Ortiz, Chi Thieu, Danielle Cunes
Identifying how public transportation in Tucson affects healthcare access is essential to understanding where healthcare deserts are present in the city. By visualizing how patients access healthcare provider by public transportation such as Sun Link and bus, we are able to locate any underserved areas and bring awareness to both residents and the city.
Major League Baseball: A 2023 Rule Change Analysis
Team members: Alec Fernandez, Marissa Ronquillo and Alvaro Borbon
In 2023, Major League Baseball implemented several key rule changes aimed at improving the pace of play which has the goal of enhancing the fan experience and increasing both viewership and attendance. By analyzing in-person attendance trends before and after the implementation of these rules, we explore whether these changes have had a lasting impact and what the potential future for baseball could look like.
Psychology in eSports
Team members: Jaythan Baythavong, Kevin Li, Steven Aske, Tom Oswald, Rachel Stienstra
What we are testing in our project is whether or not winning early game rounds in competitive games affects the mental game of the players and whether they lead to winning in general. We have an R-shiny app that will go along with a research paper, showcasing our data and what has been found to be true or not true.
SonoraSafe
Team members: Buddy Buttram, Matthew Harper, Nicholas Kaplan, Max Stec
SonoraSafe is a research project focused on bicycle safety in Tucson. Our goal is to determine the most crash-prone intersections and high-risk types of traffic infrastructure for cyclists to avoid through quantitative analysis of bicycle crash data and qualitative analysis of intersections.
Bitter Sweet
Team: Laila Awadalla, Adriana Halona, CJ Moissioner, Haodong Qin, Joshua Villanueva
Description: Bitter Sweet is our “fruit-flavored” take on 1980 films with a heavy emphasis on John Hughes and just a dash of imminent world destruction. Set in pre-apocalyptic 1986 San Francisco, Bitter Sweet is a 2D story-driven RPG game. Our story follows the anti-hero, Lem, as he reckons with the consequences of his past in order to reunite with his cat Lime. As if the stakes weren’t high enough already, the end of the world looms on the horizon- Lem only has one day to get back Lime…Will you take the high road to get Lime back or continue walking the path Lem laid out for himself?
Cat Trail
Team: Tristin Anaya — Honors project
Description: Cat Trail is an interactive augmented reality web based experience that takes students on a virtual tour around campus, discovering both central and unique landmarks. When a user explores a new location, there will be a virtual guide there to give information about the found landmark. The goal of the software is to help students navigate the University of Arizona in an immersive fun way.
Chess: Trial By Combat
Team: Andrea Andrade and Mica Barker
Description: Chess: Trial by Combat is a spin-off where the player must battle for control over each captured square rather than automatically capturing it. It combines fighting-style games with strategy, giving players without chess experience an upper hand. The game transitions from a 3D chessboard to a 2D fighter game if the player captures a piece. Fighting players with no strategic ability can match with high-level strategists and still have a “fighting” chance.
Course Scheduling Solutions
Team: Jackson Higgins, Carlos Garcia, Isaiah Montanez, Rohan Sahay
Description: The University of Arizona is a large university that offers many degrees and courses. With all of these course offerings, there are bound to be issues with scheduling with students and the university. Some of these issues include students not being able to select specific courses in the spring or fall semesters and larger rooms that are reserved for classes that end up having much smaller sizes. Our project deals with the issues of course scheduling within the College of Information Sciences. We gathered the data on past course schedules dating back all the way from 2022 and analyzed what would be the best solution to the course scheduling problems.
EcoShelf
Team: Molly Alveshire, Arianna Arnold, Christina Wise, Eden Miller
Description: EcoShelf is an eco-friendly inventory management app enabling businesses to adopt sustainable practices while saving money and resources. The app will feature intuitive interfaces, data analysis capabilities, and multiple options for managing clothing waste ethically and efficiently.
Green TrekTraveler
Team: Grace Magrisso, Kailey Hurley, Jeffrey Payne, Tommy X Zhan
Description: Green TrekTraveler is an Android mobile application designed to guide eco-conscious travelers in making sustainable transportation choices within the U.S. Using data-driven insights from past weather patterns, WalkScore, and real-time transit information, Green TrekTraveler evaluates the feasibility and accessibility of walking, biking, and public transit. By simply entering allocation and date, users can also view tailored recommendations for the best nearby bike rentals and transit stops. Green TrekTraveler empowers users to plan their inner-city exploring and reduce carbon emissions, aligning users’ travel habits with their environmental values.
Postmortem Escapade
Team: Margo Mykhaylyk, Teresa Tran, Ian Roach, Beemer Wilkins
Description: In Postmortem Escapade, play as a recently deceased thief navigating the Underworld! With eternal damnation on the line, strike a risky deal with a judge: steal priceless treasures, outsmart deadly foes, and reclaim your soul—or be trapped in hell forever!
Scheduling Analysis
Team: Yash Sihag (Project Manager), Preet Agarwal, Vedaang Mockoul, Zaroon Nasir
Description :Our project focuses on analyzing course schedules and teaching formats to improve student success at the College of Information Science. We are conducting a comprehensive data analysis, using machine learning to examine enrollment patterns, student performance, and the enrollment and performance trends of international students. Our goal is to provide valuable insights that will help optimize course scheduling, enhance student engagement, boost academic performance and overall satisfaction, and ultimately increase enrollment rates at the college.
Tucson Crime Analysis
Team: Aaron Huerta, Issak Reitz, WenHao Pan, Jacob Gordon and Cristian Montano
Description: Our project is a research study on the city of Tucson, Arizona during 2019-2023 in the form of an analysis paper and GIS map. The study comprises of using data from public sources of government/state databases to analyze crime patterns during recent years. Data science and GIS methods are utilized to find correlation and possible causes of crime to the areas of Tucson. Our aim is to find a link between the socioeconomic status and availability of health and behavioral resources in an area to the crime rate.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For general information or assistance, please contact Jana Phillips, events coordinator, at jana42@arizona.edu or 520-621-8288.
For corporate queries, or to sponsor the iShowcase, please contact Michael McKisson, associate professor of practice and director of undergraduate studies, at mckisson@arizona.edu or 520-621-7556.